East and West Dearborn Downtown Development authorities partner on pitch event

City looks to offer up to four pop-up locations to entrepreneurs free of rent

Entrepreneurs could win $10,000 in marketing worth of marketing services

Neumann/Smith Architecture

Wagner Place in west Dearborn will have first-floor retail and restaurants, two floors of work space and a rooftop patio.

Dearborn officials are pushing forward with a downtown transformational strategy that seeks to inject empty storefronts with innovative retail and appeal to millennials and the next generation of shoppers.

The east and west district's Downtown Development Authorities are pushing the plan that has led to millions of dollars invested in infrastructure. The city is looking for sustainable retail that can provide an experience for shoppers and balance the existing mix of businesses that fits the needs of the district, Downtown Dearborn Executive Director Cristina Sheppard-Decius said. The strategy also intends to boost the downtown's cultural image, create a more cohesive downtown and improve biking and walking options, she said.

To do so, Dearborn is putting the emphasis on entrepreneurs to fill vacancies in the downtown area. Vacancy rates are about 6 percent in the west downtown district and about 20 percent in the east downtown district, Sheppard-Decius said.

"Pop-ups invoke that experience of something cool and new, but also bring forth a different mindset to what you can do in a space," she said. "This pop-up program is setting that tone of what people can expect of our image."

The pop-up program to which she refers is the Dearborn Entrepreneur Pitch Competition scheduled for November. Entrepreneurs will have a shot at winning a pop-up storefront and business services to open shop in the downtown.

The pitch competition is the postlude of a four-part entrepreneur development series that launched in June. At stake is four months of rent-free space for business owners to test and grow their ideas.

Three pitch prep events, the first of which focused on creating a business plan, were designed to discuss various topics ahead of the Nov. 14 event. At the preparation sessions, attendees can test their pitch ideas and network with business coaches.

"Each time we have a panel discussion featuring local entrepreneurs who are already" in business, Sheppard-Decius said. "We are engaging those who are working to start a business really get up and going."

Downtown Dearborn seeks retailers, makers, artisans, experiential and tech businesses to participate in the pitch competition. The DDAs expect to provide as many as four storefronts, varying in size, to pitch winners in the east and west parts of the downtown. Organizers expect to announce the pop-up locations at the Aug. 22 gathering, Sheppard-Decius said.

About 40 entrepreneurs are expected to participate. The top winner will receive a marketing package through Dearborn-based Grind Business Creative worth $10,000, while three runners-up will receive smaller package deals.

The DDAs are working with organizations including the University of Michigan-Dearborn, ACCESS and the Henry Ford Museum to develop a list of business resources available to entrepreneurs in Dearborn, Sheppard-Decius said.

Sheppard-Decius, a Crain's 40 Under 40 2009 honoree, was recognized for her work to attract $23 million in reinvestment in Ferndale's downtown and reduce vacancy rates, which spiked during the Great Recession about a decade ago.

"We are building out an ecosystem that helps those entrepreneurs get to resources they need in order to be successful," she said. "You have to create [a retail] experience for people nowadays."

The next event is scheduled for Aug. 22 when a panel will discuss resources to launch creative enterprises. Following that is a Sept. 26 session where final details will be revealed about the pitch competition.

Dearborn's east and west DDAs are hosting the program. The Aug. 22 event is 5-7:30 p.m. at City Hall ArtSpace Connector at 13615 Michigan Ave., which is part of the reimagining of downtown Dearborn where Artspace Projects Inc., a Minneapolis nonprofit, purchased the former Dearborn City Hall for $1.65 million in 2013. The group invested $16.5 million to transform the government building into a mixed-use arts incubator that includes more than 50 live-work quarters for artists. The building, which opened in 2016, also offers more than 19,500 square feet of commercial leasing space, according to the city.

Another $60 million was invested into The Wagner Place development on the downtown's west side. Ford Land Development Corp. is leading the project to revitalize the historic Wagner hotel to accommodate about 600 Ford Motor Co. employees and add retail and office space there.

More information about the event series and pitch competition can be found here.

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